Food, family and memories are as intertwined in the South as if woven on the same thread. At any function we attend, from a party to a wedding to a funeral, we are as likely to talk as much about the food that was there, as we are about why we are gathered. ~Mary Foreman

I'm your cook, not your doctor. ~PAULA DEEN

I found out what the secret to life is: friends. Best friends. ~Ninny Threadgoode

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Creole Jambalaya

Jambalaya, often made in this way with chicken, andouille sausage and shrimp, is a very common dish here in The Deep South and we tend to have it regularly, though every recipe you'll run across is probably a little bit different from the one before it. Different methods, different ingredients, different seasonings. It's a very versatile dish and there isn't any one way that is the only way.

I recently posted a Cajun jambalaya recipe, with layers of flavor that are built beginning with roasting the meats in the oven first. You can certainly do that here as well. This recipe is a little bit different from that one because this one uses a roux, I've added some fresh shrimp here, and it's considered a Creole version, due to the use of tomatoes, though in truth, Cajun and Creole cooking have sort of melded together these days. Don't let the long list of ingredients scare you away - there are quite a few seasonings and meats involved, but it comes together fairly easy, and then the oven does the work.

As far as "spicy heat" goes, I'm gonna repeat what I have said before about the heat level of Cajun and Creole foods. My seasonings here give a nice, respectable bite, but are not gonna set your mouth on fire. Some people have the misconception that "spicy" Cajun and Creole foods equal loading down dishes with red pepper, Creole or Cajun seasonings, and nothing could be further from the truth. There is nothing worse than trying to eat something that somebody has loaded down so heavy with red pepper trying to make it "Cajun" that you can't even taste the food underneath any longer. We like spicy down here, but we like flavor with some kick even better! Save the hot pepper sauce for the table. As always, this recipe is written to give just a bit of a bite but not be overpowering. Feel free to bump the heat up or down to your own personal preference.

Sprinkle the whole chicken breasts with salt and pepper and brown in oil over medium to medium high heat in a 6 quart cast iron dutch oven that has a lid. Don't overcook! Remove chicken and set aside to cool. Once cool, coarsely chop into bite sized pieces. To the dutch oven, add the chopped sausage and cook until browned; remove and set aside.

Add additional oil as needed to bring up to a tablespoon. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly until lightly browned. Do not burn! Add onion and bell pepper and saute a few minutes until softened. Reduce heat to medium and add the garlic, cooking another minute. Using kitchen shears, roughly chop the tomatoes right in the can, then carefully stir them into the veggie/roux mixture, add the Rotel tomatoes and cook an additional 5 minutes. Add the chicken broth, thyme, basil, parsley, Cajun seasoning, white pepper, and cayenne, bring back up to a boil. Add the rice and stir in. Return to a boil. Add the chicken and sausage, dot the top with butter, stir, cover the pot and place it into the oven. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes or until the majority of liquid is absorbed.

Remove, stir, taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Sprinkle the shrimp lightly with Old Bay seasoning, stir the shrimp into the rice mixture and return to the oven to bake until liquid is absorbed and shrimp are cooked through. Fluff with a large serving fork.

Scoop onto plates, garnish with a bit of parsley, add a side salad or a green veggie, and pass hot pepper sauce at the table. Makes a massive amount of jambalaya. Reheat leftovers covered in the microwave.

Lighten it up: Substitute turkey smoked sausage and use non-stick cooking spray to brown the meats instead of oil. For the roux, omit the oil, use a bit more spray, and just brown the flour in the dutch oven long enough to cook the flour, about 5 minutes. Whisk in a bit of water to form a gravy and add a splash of Kitchen Bouquet. Omit the butter at the end.

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25 comments:

Looks good, sounds good and the long list of ingredients does not scare me off!I would love to try a good Jambalaya. Have had it in New Orleans but never attempted it myself. Thanks for the great recipe!

I'm gonna make this over the weekend. I'll probably get flack from hubby, he's dieting and is eliminating carbs. Oh well, this looks too yummy not to prepare. I guess he has two choices, eat it or eliminate a few more calories on that day!

I just made this today and my picky kid loved it and of course my mom loved it too. This was so fantastic and so fantastically easy to throw together. I made a few substitutions, i.e., used tomatoes and hot peppers from the garden. The family told me to add this to the regular rotation!

Hi Mary, just a quick note to say how much my DH and I love your recipes. We have made this jambalaya recipe at least four times and it is always a huge hit! Your.blog is always my first stop when I am looking for something to cook. Love you girl! All our best, Teresa and Mark SwopeOverland Park, KS

Hi Mary,Just wanted to say how much I appreciate your blog. Your recipes are always spot-on southern and very delicious! Keep it coming! Made your jambalya today for the fourth time! My DH and I talk about you like we personally know you. Thanks again!Sincerely,Teresa (transplanted southern gal) and Mark SwopeOverland Park, KS

I didn't have shrimp but used the meat from a whole rotisserie chicken from the deli. I boiled the bones and skin in the chicken broth to give it more flavor and richness. Added the ham and Andouille. Really nice recipe, thanks! Love the Slap ya Mama - wish they made a lower salt version! Tony C. has one but it's hard to find. Karen

Hi! It of course depends on appetites, but jambalaya is typically a big batch meal! I estimated this to make about 10 to 12 servings, but it does also depend on how you are serving it - whether as a starter, side or main dish meal. You can reduce the recipe but it does also freeze nicely. Rotel is also a diced tomato product that contains diced green chile peppers in it so it has a little heat to it. You can see what it looks like here. It comes in mild, regular, hot and other versions. The cans are a little smaller than the standard diced tomatoes are.

Mary, Hi, I made this Jambalaya and it was a big hit with my family and friends. We used bison andouille sausage and it was awsome. I am so glad I found your site while on Pinterest. I look forward to making some of your other recipies. I am going to look for a yummy cobbler recipie for church tonight. Thanks again. Ruth Ellen

Hi Mary! My hubby and I made this tonight, it turned out really well. I did need to increase the chicken broth to almost 2 cups in order to get the rice to fully cook after removing it from the oven after the final baking time. We added the extra broth, stirred it and put back in the oven for an additional 10 minutes and then let it set covered 10 - 15 minutes before serving. The extra liquid absorbed nicely. The only thing we did different was add a little more chicken (we used thigh meat), sausage and shrimp so not sure if that absorbed some of the broth, otherwise I'm not sure why the rice needed more broth. We've tried several Jambalya recipes including a slow cooker one and they have mostly all been delicious, this one no exception, it's absolutely one of the best out there. Great flavor! It will be interesting to see how it taste tomorrow after all the flavors meld together.

I was in the mood for Jambalya and who better to get a Jambalya recipe than Deep South Dish! Hubby was looking at a few other Jambalya recipes we have and I said "oh no, we have to try Mary's"! I'm so glad I did.

Also a note about the ingredient list, cayenne isn't listed under ingredients, however it is listed under the directions to add along with the other spices. I added a 1/2 teaspoon but it could probably use 1 teaspoon. We love spicy but my grown daughter who just moved back in with us after graduating college does not, so we didn't spice it up more. (that's what the hot sauce is for in those cases right??). Thanks for another delicious recipe that we will be making many times I'm sure.

Thanks for taking the time to comment - I love hearing from readers and I read every single comment and try to respond to them right here on the site, so stop back by!

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